Rating

Overview

Introduction

With Intel’s X79 chipset in full swing and Z77 on the way, ASUS is sailing smoothly from what we can see. Their Republic of Gamers (ROG) motherboards were missed with the LGA 1155 (Sandy Bridge) platform but as Intel prepares for Ivy Bridge, the ROG branding steams ahead with LGA 2011 and Sandy Bridge “E” series processors. LGA 2011 gets some traction with Intel’s delay of Ivy Bridge and users have the ROG trifecta in the Rampage IV series.

By trifecta we mean the Extreme, Formula, and the Gene in the Rampage IV line-up. Recently, we published the Rampage IV Extreme review and it has every bell and whistle one can only dream of, and it remains to be seen if the trend will continue with the remaining two ROG boards in the X79 series.

Today, we have a dual review of the remaining ROG motherboards, the Rampage IV Formula and the Rampage IV Gene. They are unboxed and ready to go. The Formula and Gene have some considerable differences, namely ATX versus Micro-ATX form factor, so let’s take a closer look and see what they have in store.